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Brine Pools Are Lakes On The Bottom Of The Ocean

November 9, 2015

Written byCuriosity Staff

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Some brine pools found in the Gulf of Mexico are more than 19 km (12 mi) long. They formed as salt—left behind from a dried-up sea, and buried beneath sediment—slowly rose up from beneath the ocean floor, dissolving to make brine. The brine is much denser than the surrounding seawater, and doesn't mix with it, creating a barrier that makes it look as though there's a lake underwater. This barrier is called a halocline.